


Second Best - Book Two

by AlexandriaScriven



Series: Second Best [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24854422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexandriaScriven/pseuds/AlexandriaScriven
Summary: Now aboard the Princess Andromeda, Graycen Bellarose is adjusting to her new life. She and Luke carry out plans to take down Camp Half-blood, but when Percy Jackson and his friends arrive to the scene, things don't exactly go according to plan.
Series: Second Best [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798042
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

I could deal with the dragon women and the bear men, but the mortals were really starting to get on my nerves. 

It had been almost a year since I left Camp Half-blood. In many ways, my life had very much improved. The tourists were not one of them. 

"We are having a fun time," said a little boy on his way to the pool, his eyes foggy and out of focus. 

"Yeah," I grumbled. "Sure you are." I shouldered past him and continued down the hallway of the _Princess Andromeda._ Luke and I had been living on the cruise ship for months, along with our new recruits. It was a nice place. I had my own cabin filled with all sorts of cool stuff. There were no schedules or arts and crafts rooms. Here I could do whatever I want without a horse man or a fat god barking up my tree. A perfect life for a demigod. Besides the company, that is.

I walked through the halls of the ship, pushing lazy mortals out of the way and glaring at any hellhounds or Laistrygonian giants that came my way. I wouldn't exactly call them _tame_ , but they knew better than to mess with me, or anyone on the ship. Except for maybe when someone cheated at a game of Bingo. Then things get a little heated.

I made my way to the admiralty suite. Luke sat at the table in the corner, covered in dozens of old books and maps. 

I was a little jealous that Luke got the best room on the boat. It was huge, with curved windows along the back wall, showing off the sparkling ocean stretched out for miles. In the opposite corner of the table was a large canopy bed, perfectly made with plush pillows and fluffy quilts. Two sofas sat in the center of the room on top of a gorgeous Persian rug. Why the boy got the pretty stuff, I have no idea.

Luke was so engulfed in his work, he didn't notice me come in. I stayed silent for a moment and watched him. He changed a lot over the last 10 months. His hair was more tamed and he dressed nicer. In his button down shirt and khaki pants, he looked like a college student ready to get a business degree. Most of all though, he looked more confident. Not that he wasn't before. But now he had this air about him, like he knew exactly what he was doing and what he was going to do. He made you feel safe and secure. He had everything under control, so you shouldn't worry. 

I tried to focus on his face rather than the one object in the suite I wasn't jealous about. At the back of the room, on a velvet dais, a black sheet lay over something that I wished was never brought on our ship. 

Finally, Luke noticed I was there. 

"Grayce!" He said, standing from his seat. "I'm glad you're here. We have great news. Come look."

I walked over to the table. One map in the center looked older than the rest. Its edges seemed to have been burned a long time ago, and the rest of it was yellow and worn. I didn't see any recognizable landmarks, but there were so many X's on it, it was hard to tell. 

Luke pointed to the last spot on the map that wasn't marked up. "We just received news from one of our scouts," he said. "They've found it."

I swallowed hard. Secretly I had been hoping we would get empty reports. 

"That's great," I said. 

"This is going to change everything. It's the key to our success. It will completely change the tides." He grabbed me by the hand and met my gaze. "Once we do this, we've practically won already."

I looked away, trying to decide on what to say. "Are you sure this is the only way? I mean. . ."

"It'll be fine," he told me. "It's going to work." 

He sounded so sure. He acted as if this plan wasn't completely crazy and unthinkable. 

But as much as I hated the idea of doing what we were about to do, I trusted Luke more than anyone. If he thought this was a good plan, well. . . then so did I.

"Yeah," I said. "I know it will."

He let go of my hands. "I have to get back to work. There's still a lot to sort out." His voice was calm and gentle. "But I'll see you at dinner, okay?"

"Okay."

He gave me his beautiful smile and then returned his attention back on the maps. 

I headed towards the doors, stopping in front of the covered object. A chill ran down my spine. I felt as if my rib cage was a magnet attracted to it. It took everything in me not to run over and uncover it, even though that was the very _last_ thing I wanted to do. 

Before I could give in, I ran out of the suite. I stood in the hallway and took a breath, trying to shake off the sickening feeling swirling around in my gut. 

* * *

I thought by now I would be used to having monsters at my dinner table. 

I was not. 

The bear twins, Agrius and Oreius, sat together. The latter was stealing food off his brother's plate and calling each other a long list of insults that I care not to repeat. Agrius looked about a thousand percent done with his twin. Across from them, three Dracaenae were digging into bowls of suspicious looking soup. I wasn't eager to find out what was in it. Four Laistrygonian giants filled up the rest of the seats, talking about bashing people's heads in and others forms of deathly fun. About a dozen hellhounds were scattered throughout the dining lounge, chewing on a mixture of bones and very large dog biscuits. 

With Luke and I at the ends of the table, it looked as if we were one, very large, very strange family. I quickly shook off the idea. There was no way in Hades I would ever call anyone at that table my family. Except Luke of course. He _is_ my family. I hadn't realized until recently that I had been calling him that for years. I definitely didn't consider him my brother. But he _was_ family. In one way or another. 

"So. . ." I said, trying to make conversation with Luke across the table. "Any idea when our _demigod_ recruits will be here?"

"Why?" Asked the Dracaenae in the middle. "Are we not good enough for you misss princesss?"

I glared at her. "Do _not_ call me that."

She smirked, but didn't say anything else. 

Luke answered like the exchange hadn't happened. "Chris Rodriguez is set to arrive next week. He said he is bringing a couple others with him."

"And. . .?" I said.

"And what?"

"Is that all?"

"We still have recruits that are staying at the camp. We need them to feed us information."

"Okay," I responded, very aware of the giant beside me ripping through a whole turkey. "But we still need more half-bloods here. If we are going to do this right, we need more than just-" I hesitated, suddenly feeling very outnumbered. 

"Oh jussst sssay it," said the Dracaenae on the end, finishing off her soup. "Afraid you might hurt our feelingsss that you want your own kind?"

"We need people that know about Camp Half-blood," I decided to say.

"And we will." Luke waved his fork through the air as he talked. "We are gaining more and more recruits every day. Both monster and half-blood. We'll have a large army in no time."

"How is that, exactly?"

"How is what?" He mustered, his mouth was full of potatoes. 

"How are we getting new recruits? How does anyone even know about us?"

Luke wiped his mouth and smiled. "Let's just say there are a lot of people who owe me some favors."

Just as I was about to complain that that wasn't a real answer, everything in the room flew to the right. Food went flying as fallen monsters tried to untangle themselves from one another. A hellhound broke my fall, which was about as nice of a cushion as you could get. I couldn't say the same for Luke. Poor guy went head first into a tangle of snake legs as the Dracaenae screamed, trying to get situated. "Get off me!" "Where's my legs?" "That's me you idiot!"

Our dinner decorated the floors. I got to my feet, trying to regain my balance. The boat was still leaning to the right, so it wasn't exactly an easy task. 

Luke managed to free himself from the snake women. We locked eyes. There was no need to talk. A silent conversation passed between us. We drew our swords and started crawling to the doors. 

As if we needed more monsters. 

When we got to the deck, I fought the urge to jump overboard and swim very far away. Dozens of new monster recruits were scattered around us. They were running around in a mad panic, waving weapons and bearing teeth. But that's not what scared me.

Slithering around the top of the control room, was a forty foot long Aethiopian drakon. It was covered with bright green scales and had multiple rows of shark-like teeth. It's cold, terrifying eyes seemed to paralyze anyone who met them. Half of its body rested in the water, causing the boat to lean towards the right.

The serpent blew fire at the scrambling monsters, and scooped up anyone who got close with its teeth.

When I got my bearings back, I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise. "What is that doing here?"

Luke grumbled, hardly loud enough for me to hear, "It was supposed to be in a cage."

"You _bought_ this thing?" I was almost as stunned by that as I was by the actual drakon. 

He muttered something else that I couldn't make out and charged the beast. 

"Yeah sure," I mumbled to myself. "Let's buy a drakon and not tell Graycen. That'll be a great idea. I'm sure it won't try to kill us all." I pushed past screaming monsters and ran after my friend on a suicide mission.

A few Laistrygonian giants still had some courage left. They charged the serpent with spears and swords. Unfortunately, they were no match for the drakon's hide. The weapons bounced harmlessly off the creature and only seemed to make it even angrier. 

"Stop, you idiots!" I shouted at the giants. They looked confused that they were the subject of my anger. "You're only making things worse. Go! Work on getting the ship level again. And secure the cargo. I don't want to lose anything valuable because of an overgrown snake."

I turned to the other group of monsters cowering behind anything they could find. "The rest of you, keep it distracted!" 

They nodded and ran off. I scanned the deck for mortals, but I didn't see any. They must have all gone below when they saw the giant drakon arrive. 

Luke had already began his attack, but he wasn't as dumb as the monsters. He ran along the serpent's back, finding chinks in its armor and running his sword through them. The drakon bucked like an angry bull and shot fire through the air, but Luke knew what he was doing. 

I ran across the lop sided deck, dodging fireballs and fallen monsters. I reached the control room and climbed to the top, shouting to keep it's attention away from Luke. "Hey ugly!" 

Apparently the drakon took offense to that. I ducked and rolled out of the way as it shot white hot flames, charring the place where I had been standing. 

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to get me." I ran in circles on the roof, dodging fire and slashing at its mouth any time I got close. 

The plan was working. The serpent seemed to have completely forgotten about Luke. Unfortunately, that wasn't good news for me. I was running out of ideas. I was also running out of floor space. The monster was coiling up around the control room, slowly shrinking the space around me. 

The ship leveled out again, which made it easier to move around. At least those giants were good for something. I don't know how they did it, but they got the beast out of the water. Now its whole body now rested on the deck. I started to rethink my order. 

I dodged and slashed, but the drakon was learning my moves. It anticipated what I was going to do next. I rolled out of the way of another flame and aimed my sword at its mouth, but it knew better this time. It turned it's head so fast, it caught Luke off guard and sent him flying towards the deck. 

I might have screamed, though I'm not sure. The drakon's snout slammed into me. The world went momentarily dark. A loud ringing filled my head. I tried to move, but it felt like someone dropped an eighteen wheeler on my chest. My eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry and spinning. The ringing was slowly being replaced by the sound of fire crackling and lots of screaming. 

I was vaguely aware of something green surrounding me. I wiggled my hands, but they were pressed tightly against my sides. 

"Graycen!" The sound cut through my mind like an arrow. All my senses came back at once. The drakon was wrapped around me, keeping its cold eyes glued on what was probably about to become its next meal. It ignored Luke and other monsters, slashing its hide. I felt my blade against my leg. If I could only get to it. . . What? It's not like I could use it. I can hardly even move my fingers, let alone wield a sword. 

I spotted Luke in the crowd. I figured he was the one that called me, seeing as how he's the only other one on the ship with half a brain. He was still fighting, but he wasn't looking too good. (Health wise, any other way. . . Well, you know.) His shirt was singed and covered in holes. His left arm had a nasty looking cut, and blood was dripping from his forehead. 

The drakon kept its eyes on me. 

It's eyes. . .

"Luke!" I screamed as loud as I could. "Its eyes! They don't have armor."

He looked at me, then at the head of the monster. "Yeah, okay?" He yelled back.

I rolled my own pair of eyes. As great as he was, Luke could be a complete idiot sometimes. I stared at him and nodded at the drakon's head. 

Realization spread across his face. He looked between me and the monster, then shouted orders at the bear twins and they boosted him up on the serpent's back. 

I quickly took my gaze off him and focused back on the drakon. "Hey there buddy." I tried to sound as calm, which was hard since if this plan didn't work I would end up as dinner. "Um, how about we talk this out? I'm sure once we get to know each other, you won't want to eat me. I'd probably taste terrible anyways. I'm small and bony. Hardly any meat on this body." 

It took everything in me not to watch Luke while I talked.

The drakon squeezed around me tighter. "Okay, okay. We don't have to talk." It was getting hard to breath. "If you could just-" I stopped when I saw Luke creep around its neck. I watched as he raised his sword and aimed for the eye. 

That's when I realized my mistake. 

The beast turned its head with such agility you would think it would have a serious case of whiplash. Luke grabbed on to a chink in it's armor, trying not to lose his grip again. 

I took his attack as an opening. The drakon's grip released just enough for me to reach my sword. I stabbed behind me with all of my strength, slicing my leg in the process. I bellowed in pain, but so did the serpent. It dropped me back on the roof. I didn't stop to take a breath. I got a better grip on my sword and charged. 

_I must be the dumbest person alive,_ I thought as I leaped onto the drakon's head. It shook back and forth in a mixture of pain and confusion, but I didn't let go. I thrust my sword straight into the center of its eye. 

It slashed and writhed. I knew better than to hold on. I loosened my grip and went spiraling to the deck. As I hit the ground, I watched celestial bronze chains being thrown over the monster. In no time, it was pinned down. Laistrygonian giants, along with the bear twins, worked to muzzle it. A Dracaenae stuck a needle into its neck, in a gash one of our blades had made. 

I tried to stand, but my legs collapsed underneath me as the scene started to spin. I was getting really tired of being unconscious. But against my best efforts, I fell to the floor as my world went black once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Surely I must be dead, I thought. 

Pain surged through my body like I never felt before. 

I replayed my life in my head, wondering which act had gotten me into the fields of punishment. I wasn't perfect by any means, but I didn't think I was _that_ bad. 

I was scared to open my eyes, afraid to find out what the underworld really looked like. There were so many stories, each one worse than the next. 

Before I could muster up the courage, I heard distant mumbling, like someone was talking underwater. I concentrated on the voice, thinking any distraction from my pain was a good one. It was hard to understand, but I could _just_ make it out. 

"-lead us straight to it." There was a pause, as if they were waiting for someone else to speak, but I didn't hear another voice. 

"We have multiple spies at the camp. They keep us informed. When a quest is issued, we will know right away." Another pause. "He won't be a problem. Neither of them will."

The voice waited again, longer this time.

"Of course my Lord."

A chill ran up my spine. _I'm an idiot,_ I thought. I knew who the voice was and who he was talking to. I had been through this before. 

I quickly tried to focus on anything else, my throbbing head, the searing pain running through my body, anything to keep my attention off the conversation. 

I couldn't tell how long it had been. A minute? Probably longer. 

I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt a cold rag touch my forehead. I sat up too quickly and only made my headache worse (though up until that point I didn't think that was possible). My eyes flew open.

"Whoa, whoa." Luke's voice both calmed me down and made me more anxious. "Careful. Lean back."

He helped me rest against the headboard, as my breathing steadied. "I was starting to think you might not wake up."

"What happened?" I asked, surprised at how tired and weak my voice sounded. 

"How much do you remember?"

"We were fighting the drakon. I charged its head and. . . I hit the ground. Hard."

"Yeah. You did." He looked at me with a mix of concern and admiration. "You were really brave, Grayce. You saved us."

I didn't feel brave. I felt completely the opposite, in fact. Even still, the compliment was nice, especially coming from the bravest person I knew. 

I decided not to comment on that, afraid I would start blushing like an idiot. Instead I asked, "How long was I out this time?"

He gave me a pained expression. "Two weeks."

I thought I might pass out again. Only sheer stubbornness kept me conscious. My throat went dry. _"Two weeks?_ How have I been out for two weeks?"

"You got badly injured. You're lucky it was only that long."

"I _fell_ ," I said. "I've fallen higher from the climbing walls at camp."

"I'm not talking about your fall."

I looked at him, wondering what in Hades he was talking about, until my right leg grew uncomfortably warm. I replayed my fight with the drakon. 

"My leg. . ." 

"You cut yourself with your sword. It's not too deep, so it shouldn't be fatal, but. . ."

He didn't need to finish. I knew as well as any that celestial bronze was deadly to demigods. I had only ever seen monsters wounded with it, and they disintegrated on the spot. I was glad that didn't happen to me. Even still, there was no telling what kind of damage the blade had given. I heard some stories that even the slightest cut could damage your soul, destroying it little by little, until eventually you faded away for good. 

I tried not to think about that. 

I went to go uncover my leg to look at it, when I noticed the blanket. A blue and silver quilt, softer than anything you could imagine. I tensed up and my eyes scanned the room. I felt my face get hot. I was in _Luke's_ bed.

So much for avoiding blushing. 

Luke apparently didn't notice, thank the gods. I quickly turned my focus back to the conversation. 

"Is it bad?" I asked him.

He pursed his lips. "It's wrapped up right now, but you can look at it."

He folded the blanket down. A bandage wound from my ankle to under my shorts. I panicked, realizing that I wasn't _wearing_ shorts when I passed out. 

Even though it looked thickly wrapped, it was soaked in blood. A piece was coming loose at the end by my foot. When Luke noticed it, he gently tucked it back in place, which sent an electric shock up by body. 

"We've given you as much nectar and ambrosia that I'm willing to risk. Thomas tried some healing magic, but-"

"Wait," I interrupted. "Who's Thomas?" 

"One of the new recruits," he said. "That came with Chris."

"Oh." I was disappointed that I wasn't there when they arrived. Now all of them would just think of me as a helpless demigod who couldn't hold her own.

"When you're ready, I'll take you to them. They need to meet my second in command."

I perked my head up. "Second in command?" I asked.

"Well, yeah. That is, if you're up for the job. If not, I could always give it to Agrius. . ."

"No!" I said quickly. "I want it."

He flashed me that teasing little grin that he always does, and I found enough strength to punch him in the shoulder. He laughed. "Of course you're my second in command, dummy."

I smiled, almost forgetting how much pain I was in. 

We sat for a moment, not saying anything. My eyes drifted to the item at the back of the room. The sheet had been removed. A ten foot long golden sarcophagus gleamed on the velvet dais. The images of cities in flames and heroes dying engraved on the sides seemed to dance in the afternoon light. 

Luke followed my gaze and his face stiffened. Whenever the subject of our actual mission was brought up, Luke got like that. It was hard to describe. It's not like he was sad, like the day he had disappeared at camp. He seemed more determined, like the only thing in the world that mattered was what was in that coffin. As the months went on, he got like that more and more. He was still happy, sure, but not quite himself. I cherished the moments like the one we had just had. Where he was laughing like a normal guy.

Before I could change my mind, I took a breath. "I heard you talking to him." I kept my eyes on the sarcophagus. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't hear much, just a few words-"

"Grayce." He cut me off. "It's okay. I don't mind. Actually. . ." He fiddled with the sheet. "I want you to talk to him with me. When you're feeling better."

I must not have made the best face because he let out a laugh. "Don't worry. You're on his side. He won't hurt you. Besides, you're going to have to get comfortable with him. He'll be our king."

I swallowed hard and tried not to look uneasy. "Yeah," I said. "I know."

He grabbed my hand. "You should get some rest. I'll bring you some dinner in a little while. Just, try to sleep."

"As if I haven't done that enough," I grumbled. "I'm getting really sick of waking up and being told I've been passed out for a long time."

He gave me a weak smile. "I know," he said. "Just try." He stood from the bed and left the room. 

I took a deep breath. 

_Second in command._ I repeated the words in my head. _You were really brave. You saved us._

I should have been ecstatic. Luke thought I was brave. He thought I did well. I should have been jumping for joy and singing at the top of my lungs. . . but I wasn't. 

Luke meant everything to me and I would follow him to the edge of the world. I didn't care about the gods. He was right, they weren't fit to rule. I had no qualms about knocking them off their thrones as well as their high horses. But every time I came near that golden coffin, everything in me screamed to get away. 

I looked at the images in the sarcophagus again. I hoped that wasn't how the world would end up if we went through with our mission. I kind of liked not being burned alive. 

As much as I hated the thought of going to sleep, it was the only way I could think of to stop the pain. I pulled the covers back over me and turned to face the wall. I thought it would have taken me longer to fall asleep, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I slipped into darkness.

That night, Luke brought me dinner in bed. He said he wished he could stay with me, but the crew was having a meeting to discuss the details in the next step in our plan. He promised he would fill me in later and then left me to eat alone. 

The food smelled delicious, but I didn't have much of an appetite. 

I should be at that meeting, I thought. Not stuck in bed eating pork roast. 

I uncovered my leg and stared at the red and white bandage. The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before. The sight of blood never made me queasy. I had seen plenty of terrible injuries during my time at camp. But laying there, looking at my own wound, my stomach turned inside out. 

After two weeks, the bleeding should have stopped. But we didn't have the materials to stitch it up, and celestial bronze was a special case. 

"You had to go and get yourself cut," I scolded my leg. Thankfully, it didn't answer. 

I scanned the empty room. If I was second in command, I needed to act like it. 

I sat up and threw my legs over the side of the bed. A wave of dizziness washed over me, but I tried to push through it. I slowly dropped to the floor, curious to find out how much weight my leg could support. Pain surged through my body. The cut grew uncomfortably hot. It felt like I was just thrown into a deep fryer. 

I took two steps forward. 

_This is crazy,_ I told myself.

 _Shut up and keep walking,_ I answered back.

I staggered through the suite and out into the hall, slowly making my way to the cabin where we held our war meetings. 

I stopped when I reached the doors, catching my breath and listening to the conversation going on inside. 

"-can't get caught," Luke was saying. "They need to get in and get out without being noticed. The camp can't know it was us who poisoned the tree."

"I can do it," someone replied. The voice sounded familiar, so I assumed it was Chris Rodriguez. I had never really talked to him when I lived at camp, but he had been frequently sending Luke Iris messages since he decided to join us. So I heard his voice enough. 

"No," Luke said. "They had to have realized you're gone by now. If you manage to get caught, they'll know it was us."

"So you are definitely not going then," another voice chimed in. This one I didn't recognize. "Everyone at camp knows who you are."

"I'm good at not being seen."

"But if you _do_ get caught, then there's no question. No chance to blame it on Chiron. It'll be better to send someone most people won't recognize so easy. Someone who can go completely unnoticed in the camp."

I opened the doors and stepped in. "I'll go."

All eyes turned on me at once. About half a dozen demigods, as well as Agrius and Oreius sitting in the corner. 

"Grayce," Luke stuttered. "W-what are you doing here? You need to be resting." He walked over and put his arm around my waist, supporting my weight. Though I didn't want him to help me, I was thankful for the rest. "You're going back to bed."

"No," I said, and pushed him off, standing on my own again. "I'm not going to be stuck in that room while all of you are out doing all the work."

A little blond boy sitting at the table spoke up. "You have no idea the effects that your sword will have on you. Even just that cut could be fatal if-"

I glared at him and he closed his mouth. He couldn't have been more than thirteen. He was about my size (which was a lot smaller than average) with a much too young and innocent face to be a part of a battle strategy meeting.

"Grayce," Luke continued, putting his hands up in defense. "I get you want to help, I really do. But it's too dangerous for you to be up and moving around right now. You heard what Thomas said."

"If this wound is going to kill me, it's going to kill me. I don't think there's anything we can do to change that. Am I right?" I looked around the small crowd, but no one spoke up, not even Luke. "So I might as well do something useful."

Luke didn't look like he was fond of that idea. I met his eyes and we had a silent argument. He finally realized that I wasn't backing down. He took a deep breath. "Fine. You can help. But you're _not_ going to camp. End of discussion."

"But I'm the perfect one for the job!" I protested. "No one will recognize me. I'm fast and small. I can get in and out without being seen, just like you said. And if someone does see me, I can play it off. They won't know I'm with you."

"You left the same time I did. They'll know. They're not _that_ dumb."

I turned to the group of demigods at the table. "Did any of you notice I was gone, or even recognize me from camp?" They shifted uncomfortably in their seats, not meeting my eyes.

"See?" I told Luke. "I practically have the power of invisibility. Let me go. I can do this."

Luke looked at the faces around the room, then back at me. He scanned me up and down. His eyes fell on my bandage and he held them there for a count of five. "You're in no shape to make that trip."

"But-"

He held up his hand. "You will not be able to do this alone. I don't want anything to go wrong."

"You mean you don't think I can poison a tree."

"I didn't say that."

"I'm not a little girl, Luke. I can do this if you just let me-"

"I said no!" He snapped, his voice getting louder. "I am in charge on this ship and what I say goes. And I say you're not going."

I held his gaze, my anger distracting me from any pain I felt. Every eye in the room was on us. You could feel the tension, as the others waited to see who would win the argument. 

I said nothing. Instead, I turned and stormed out of the cabin. 

I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to punch something. "Second in command," I said to myself. "Yeah right."

I wandered up to the top deck. A few mortals lingered with their glossy look, but none of them bothered me. I stared out over the horizon. The full moon reflected off the ocean, giving everything a comfortable grey light. There was no land in sight, but I knew we weren't far off the cost of New York. If I had the date right, we should have been arriving tomorrow afternoon. We would pull into Long Island Sound, where one person would go ashore and travel to Half-blood Hill. There, they would poison Thalia's tree, weakening the barrier around the Camp. 

At first, I hated the idea. Luke told me about the Elder Python Venom and how there was only one cure. He was sure Chiron would issue a quest to retrieve it. They would do anything to save that tree. 

When he explained the whole plan, I thought he had gone mad. Sure, I wasn't a big fan of most people at Camp Half-blood, but poisoning the tree just seemed cruel. I wondered how he could even think about doing that, considering that it was all that was left of his friend, Thalia. He told me that the tree wouldn't die permanently. After we got what we wanted and it served its purpose, he would let the camp have it, healing the pine tree and the barrier. 

Now, I wanted nothing more than to cover the entirety of Half-blood Hill in that poison. I wanted to prove to Luke that I was capable of helping, even with a wounded leg. 

I meant what I said about the cut killing me. After everything I had been through, death didn't scare me. And if I died helping Luke achieve what he wanted, then that was a death I would welcome with open arms. 

I closed my eyes and listened to the waves crash against the side of the ship. My whole body felt tired and fragile. I cursed myself for being so weak. My whole life people treated me like I couldn't do anything, especially at Camp Half-blood. I never knew why. Maybe it was because I was so much smaller than kids my age. But I thought that that was a stupid reason to treat someone poorly. Maybe everyone saw something in me that I didn't. Something that screamed _This girl couldn't do anything helpful if her life depended on it. Please treat like a six year old._

The only person who never treated me that way was Luke, and now even he thought I was useless. 

I stood on the deck until I thought my legs might turn to mush. I made my way back to my own cabin. I found myself wondering where Luke slept during the two weeks I was unconscious since I was in his bed. I pushed the thought aside and stepped into my room. 

It wasn't nearly as big as Luke's, but it was big enough to feel lonely in. The right wall was lined with old arcade games. I had my own kitchenette stocked with all my favorite snacks. The queen sized bed was piled high with feather pillows. The walls were painted a soft blue and the ceiling had glow in the dark stars, forming every constellation I knew, which was a lot. 

I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to stop from shaking. The room spun as I looked at it. I crawled to the corner and sat in a nest of pillows and blankets, the way I did at my home in New Jersey. I watched the door, half expecting Luke to walk through and check on me. But he never did. 

Soon my eyes started to get heavy. I gave in and closed them. The dreams came instantly.

I stood on the edge of a familiar dark pit. Only this time, it felt like I was really there. I looked down and saw my own arms. I took a few steps in no particular direction, just to see if my legs worked. I felt the black sand underneath my bare feet. A cold breeze rushed through the cavern and sent chills down my back. This was a little too real than I was comfortable with. 

The hard voice vibrated in my mind. _Welcome, Graycen Bellarose._

I flinched, hearing him say my last name. I hadn't used it since my mom died. I shook the feeling off and spoke. "Hello, Lord Kronos." 

There was a hissing sound that might have been a laugh. _I was beginning to wonder if you would ever address me as that._

"I do not understand, my Lord." I said, trying not to let my fear show in my words.

_You claimed to join my army nearly a year ago, yet you have never approached me, never pledged your allegiance._

"I am sorry, Lord Kronos. I meant no offense."

The hissing laugh echoed through my mind again. _You do not offend me, girl. I do not care which side of the battle you chose to be on. You are not powerful enough to tip the scales either way._

I clenched my jaw. Like my self-esteem needing another punch today. "Then why summon me here?" I asked him. "Why talk to me at all if I'm so unimportant?"

 _You may not be able to change the outcome of the war,_ the titan replied. _But you can make my job much more difficult._ _You mean nothing to me._ _That does not mean you are not important to someone else._

He paused as if expecting an answer. I didn't give him one. 

_Luke Castellan favors you,_ he went on. _I cannot say I know why, but I do know that makes you one of two things. You are either a wonderful ally, or you are a threat._

"A threat?" I asked, my fear melting away. "You just said I don't have the power to tip the scales. Which is it?"

The ground rumbled underneath my feet. _Listen to me, little half-blood. The days ahead will be history in the making. Great things will happen._ You _will have no credit in that. Luke,_ he _is the one who will make me rise. But if you get in the way of him doing what needs to be done, then you will not live to see the result of my coming._

I was getting really tired of this guy's attitude. "How could I stop Luke from doing 'what needs to be done'?"

 _Humans are fragile,_ he said. _You rely too much on your emotions. It clouds your judgment._

I suddenly understood what Kronos was talking about. I felt my face get hot, then instantly tried to swallow my feelings. I tried to remember who I was talking to and the fact that he could vaporize me on the spot. I steadied my tone. "Well you have no need to be worried, my Lord. Luke thinks I am as incapable as you say I am. I do not have any power over him."

_I am not so sure of that, little one. But alas, we will find out soon enough. Just remember what I have told you._

I bowed my head. "Of course, Lord Kronos."

Another breeze sifted through my hair as the pit and cavern disappeared into the darkness. 

When I opened my eyes, daylight was streaming through the porthole in my cabin. A tray of breakfast sat on my night table, but it was cold. A sandwich bag with ambrosia squares sat next to it. I took a few pieces out and ate it, instantly making the pain in my leg subside. I wanted to eat more, but I knew I shouldn't risk it. 

The clock on the wall read eleven in the morning. I couldn't believe everyone let me sleep in that long, especially on the day we were supposed to dock. 

I got up and threw on a new pair of clothes. I thought about the conversation I had with the king of the titans. I couldn't stand the fact that he called me powerless. I probably should have been relieved that he didn't want to use me, seeing as how much the guy creeped me out. But instead I felt insulted. I was determined to show _his majesty_ that I was more than just a potential distraction for a guy. 

An old backpack sat in the corner of the room, the one I used to bring my belongings from camp. I had to sneak back in the day after I left to get them, though it wasn't hard. I didn't tell Luke. We had been camping a little ways from camp and I went while he was sleeping. I figured if I did it once, I could do it again. I grabbed the bag and stuffed it with supplies. I took the ambrosia, a wad of cash I kept in the drawer of my night table, an extra pair of clothes, and a few other assorted items. Then I strapped my sword to my belt and crept into the hallway.

I looked for any demigods, but only a handful of mortals roamed around. My dizziness was almost completely gone, which really helped me to walk in a straight line. I made my way to Luke's suite, careful not to let anyone see me. I listened to make sure no one was in there. When I didn't hear anything, I cracked open the door and peered in. Empty. 

I walked over to the left wall, just at the end of the bed. A large bronze safe gleamed in the sunlight. I wasn't conscious when the poison had arrived, but I knew this is where Luke would have kept it. I had seen Luke open it a dozen times over the last few months and memorized the combination without realizing it. I spun the knob around and the door clicked open. 

Inside was a variety of different things. A battered, green leather journal. A pouch filled with enough golden drachmas to send an Iris message every day for years. Half a dozen old maps, like the one Luke studies all the time. A couple celestial bronze daggers. And a small vial filled with liquid blacker than ink. 

I grabbed the vial and stuffed it in my pocket. I also took a handful of golden drachmas. Hey, it's not like he didn't have enough to spare. I closed the safe and quickly left the suit. I rounded the corner and ran into Chris Rodriguez. Literally. 

"Sorry!" he said, picking up the half eaten sandwich that he had dropped. He looked at me and his expression changed, though it was hard to read. "Oh. Hi Graycen. I thought you would be in bed."

"Do I look like I need to be in bed?" It was hard to sound confident and intimidating when I was looking at a guy twice my size. I wasn't sure how old he was, but I was pretty sure I was older. That thought didn't help.

"N-no. I guess not."

"Right," I said, straightening my posture. "Now I would suggest you get back to whatever it is you're doing. Assuming that it's something helpful." I glanced at the sandwich in his hand. 

He hid it behind his back. "Right, I was just, um. . ." He looked quite flustered for someone who had the high ground. "I was going to help Agrius dock the ship."

I stared at him. "Okay, so get going."

"Right, of course." He scrambled off towards the deck. I had to admit, it felt good having power over the crew. I _was_ second in command and I intended to prove it. 

I stood on the deck where there were the most mortals. As much as I hated them, they provided a nice cover. Out on either side of us rose the New York skyline. Long Island to port and whatever the heck those cities were to starboard. 

In a few minutes, we were close enough for a lifeboat to get to shore. Luke had said he didn't want to risk docking with so many monsters on board. Camp Half-blood sat a few miles west of us. So I would have to walk to get there.

I figured I had about ten minutes before they realized the poison was gone. I pushed past an assortment of mortals and monsters until I found myself at a lifeboat. I reached for the release pulley when a voice behind me made me jump.

"Where are you going?"

I turned to face a Dracaenae staring at me with disapproval, her arms crossed over her chest. She wore a cafeteria uniform that went down to where her knees would be if she had them instead of two scaly green trunks. Her name tag read Maude. 

"None of your business," I told her.

"Luke said he wanted all the demigods in the war room. That includes you."

I rolled my eyes. "Need I remind you who is in charge of who on this boat?" I rested my hand on the hilt of my sword. "I have my orders, and you have yours. Go make a sandwich."

Maude flicked her forked tongue at me, but she didn't say anything. It was pretty easy to get monsters to listen to you when you were armed with celestial bronze. 

She slithered off and I hopped in the boat. In thirty seconds, I had the ropes undone and was on my way down the side of the cruise ship. 

I hit the water and looked back up to the deck. I _will_ prove myself. 

I grabbed the paddles and started rowing to the shore of Long Island.


	3. Chapter 3

The walk would have been easy if I didn't have my essence slowly being destroyed by a cut in my leg. 

I didn't recognize the scenery around me, but I knew where I was going. Besides living at Camp and my journey there, I had never been anywhere in New York. Even though it was just a short drive away from where my mom and I lived, we never had a reason to go there. My mom didn't have any living relatives except a cousin in California, but I had never met him and she didn't talk about him much. 

Her parents died when she was eighteen and she was an only child. She never went to college. Instead, she lived with her best friend and they surfed together, entering in competitions. My mom was easily the best surfer on the east coast. But once she had me, she gave up surfing professionally, bought her own house and decided to raise me on her own. She worked from home at some online company that I never knew a whole lot about, but it paid enough for us to live decently. She still surfed any spare moment she had with her friends, but eventually they all went on to bigger things, living the life she always wanted. 

I never once heard my mother complain. She always said that she didn't give up anything because I was all she could ever want. I had a good life with her. 

She never talked about my dad, although I asked about him frequently. I always got the same answer. "Your father is a mystery, mon chou. He came and went like the breeze off the ocean. Here for a moment, and then swept far away." I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but eventually I gave up asking questions. I figured if he didn't want to stick around, then there was no point in wishing he had. As long as I had my mom, my world was complete. 

I was jarred out of my thoughts when I ran into a man dressed in a tux. 

A couple things confused me. First off, I didn't understand why anyone would even _be_ here. There was nothing but woods around me, which made the fact that he was in a tux especially confusing. But what troubled me the most were the snakes in his hands. 

Two small, brown and black snakes coiled around a black box the size of a remote controller. The man looked perfectly calm holding them. With his salt and pepper hair, light eyes, and warm smile, he looked nice enough. He didn't seem to care that I had just rammed into him.

"Hello there," he said, his tone very soft and sweet. "What is a young lady such as yourself doing alone out in the woods?"

"Um. . ." I faltered, glancing back and forth between the snakes and the man's smile. "Just, going for a walk."

"Well you should be careful, miss. There's lots of crazies out here." He stroked the snakes, letting them curl around his fingers. 

"Yeah," I managed to say. "Right. Well I should get going. Sorry for running into you." I moved past him and started walking.

"Wait!" He called. "Do take this before you go!" I turned to see him holding out the small black box, the snakes still twirling around it.

"Thanks, but I'm okay."

He looked down at the serpents as if just realizing they were there. "Oh, no. Not the snakes, my dear." He opened the package and pulled out an envelope with a golden seal. "Please. Take it."

I walked back to the man slowly. "Why do you want me to have this?"

"Well, it's addressed to you." He turned the letter in his hand to show me a name written in beautiful cursive. With my dyslexia, it would have taken me a million years to read it, but I recognized it instantly. My mom had written it on every gift, every birthday card, in that same, beautiful writing. 

"Where did you get this?" I asked him.

"Some things get lost in the wind, but everything finds its way home eventually."

I didn't know if I was supposed to understand that, but I reached out and took the envelope. I held it gingerly as if it might crumple at my touch. The golden seal shimmered in the light. I stared at my own name. "Who are-" I looked up, but the man was gone. I searched the area, but there was no sign of him.

I put the letter in my pack. "We'll deal with that later," I said to myself. "Right now, I have a job to do."

I ate another piece of ambrosia, tried to ignore the raging pain rippling through my body, and continued my walk to my old home. 

I lost track of the time, but eventually I was met with familiar surroundings. I walked along the ring of hills that surrounded Camp Half-blood. The smell of pine mixed with the fresh strawberries from the valley. My stomach grumbled as I realized I hadn't eaten anything except ambrosia squares all morning. 

Finally I spotted Thalia's pine tree. Standing taller than any other within a ten mile radius. 

I crept up the hill, careful not to make any noise. When I reached the tree, I had a perfect view of the entire camp. The Big House stood tall and proud, the lake was speckled with canoes and half a dozen pegasi roamed the sky. Campers wandered about the grounds, carrying out their afternoon activities. There weren't many people there since the summer session hadn't begun yet. Only the year rounders would have been there. 

I pulled out the vial of black poison and stared at it in my hand. Standing there, I felt a twinge of guilt. This place had been my home for four years, and I was about to put it in mortal danger. How was that fair? How was that a _good_ thing?

I closed my eyes. _It was never your home,_ the voice in my head spoke. _A home is a place where you belong. You never belonged here. No one cared about you. Your own father, a god they serve, didn't even care about you. Why should you protect a place that treated you like an outcast?_

I took a deep breath. "This is not my home," I said aloud. I looked at the cabins in the distance. "I made my choice and I will stand with it. The age of the gods must end."

I used my sword to make a gash in the side of the tree and poured the poison into it. The liquid bubbled and began to spread, running up and down the bark, seeping into every opening. 

I turned once more to the valley laid out in front of me. The sound of laughter and sword fighting rung out through the hills. I wondered if this would be the last time I would see this place. 

With that, I ran down the hill, forgetting about the pain in my leg, and headed back to the _Princess Andromeda._

* * *

"What were you _thinking_?" As soon as I stepped onto the deck of the cruise ship, Luke stormed up to me, fuming. "You went against a direct order! You _stole_ the poison from my safe!"

"I got the job done, Luke! The tree is poisoned. No one saw me. How is that a bad thing?"

"A bad-" He looked around as if trying to find someone else who thought I was crazy. "You took a huge risk! You shouldn't even be out of bed, let alone walking miles by yourself."

"You made me your second in command," I argued. "I'm perfectly capable of poisoning a tree!"

"You being capable isn't the problem." He seemed so on edge, which was really unlike him. "What if something happened to you, Grayce? I couldn't have helped. If you had died out there. . ." He choked on the last words, like he didn't want to say them out loud. 

"You were just worried I'd get hurt?"

"Of course I was worried! I've been worried out of my mind for hours! How was I supposed to know that you were okay? That you made it to the hill? Did you really think I didn't want you to go just because I didn't think you were _capable_?"

"I just thought. . ." I started, my mouth suddenly very dry. "I thought you didn't think I could do it."

He took a deep breath. "Grayce." He let out a weak laugh. "I've seen the way you fight, the way you move. You're strong and brave and can do anything you set your mind to."

He looked at the ground and shook his head. "But you're not invincible." We met eyes again. "I don't want you to die trying to prove yourself. It's not worth it. You've already proven yourself to me."

My eyes stung. I told myself I couldn't cry. That would be too childish. 

"I'm sorry," I told him. 

He pulled me in for a hug, and only then did I notice the circle of monsters and demigods formed around us. I pulled away and cleared my throat. "So, um. What now?"

Luke looked at our audience. "Officers, report in the war room in ten minutes, the rest of you, continue with repairs and work on sailing the ship farther into the sound. We're going to stay here for a little while."

* * *

All of the officers gathered around the table, which was piled with pizza, chips, and sodas. Every demigod on board was present. Eight in total. Agrius and Oreius stayed in the corner, trying to see how hard they could hit each other in the head before passing out. Four Laestrygonian giants watched and made bets on who would stay conscious the longest. Three Dracaenae, the one name Maude and two of her ugly sisters, also sat with us, though they didn't seem very interested in what anyone had to say. All of them were dressed in matching cafeteria outfits. Why they were the spokesmen (spokeswomen? spokessnakes?) for their kind, I have no idea. An odd half-dog, half-seal creature sniffed the pizza on one of the demigods' plate. I had never seen him before, or even knew what he was, so I figured it arrived while I was knocked out. 

A demigod, Cole Howard was his name I found out, spoke up first. "So why are we staying in the sound? Wouldn't we want to get away from Camp?" He stabbed an empty soda can with his dagger while he talked. Cole was a pretty big guy. His shaggy dark hair, large biceps, and cold eyes made him look like someone who might corner you in an alleyway. The two swords strapped to his side didn't help. I only knew him because before the meeting started, he came up to me and asked if I had seen Alysia at camp. I didn't know who he was talking about, even after he tried describing her to me. I told him that I was too far away to make out any faces. He seemed a little disappointed, but didn't say anything else. 

Another girl I didn't know chimed in. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Cole. Luke is smart for making the decision to keep us in the sound." She glanced at Luke with admiration. I wasn't sure I liked that too much, but I didn't say anything.

Cole rolled his eyes. "Please, Emily. You don't know anything about strategy. You're the daughter of the love goddess."

The girl, Emily, made a pouty face. "I do too know about strategy! You think match-making is easy?"

Cue another eye roll from Cole. 

Luke peeled his eyes away from the knock-out game in the corner, as if just realizing that the meeting was starting without him. "Hmm? Oh, right." He straightened himself in his seat and placed his hands folded on the table. "It won't be long before the camp notices the poison. When they do, a quest will be issued. I want to be close so we can follow the unfortunate demigod chosen to retrieve the fleece."

"The _golden_ fleece?" Little Thomas was trying to sit higher in his chair so he wouldn't be so short next to Cole. " _That's_ what we're getting?"

Luke made an expression like he had had this conversation before. "Yes, Thomas. The golden fleece. I told you that in last night's meeting."

"Oh," he said. He looked like he was trying hard to remember something. "I don't really remember. . ."

The demigod to my left leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Thomas has a bit of a memory problem. He's pretty much hopeless. We only keep him around cause he's one of the best healers we got."

The girl was almost as buff as Cole. She wore camouflage pants and a white tank top. A bandage was wrapped around her right arm. She had long blonde hair that was pulled back in a braid, so her scar-covered face was clearly shown. 

"Um. . ." I said. "Okay, thanks for the heads up."

She elbowed me in the ribs. Her smile said it was playful, but the pain didn't agree. "No problem," she replied. 

"Anyways," Luke continued. "Until we get word from our spies at camp, we will stay in the sound. We will continue to gather up defenses, demigods and monsters alike. The ship is still damaged from our encounter with the drakon, so all members will help with repairs."

Emily was checking her nails. "I don't do _repairs_ , sweet. But I'd gladly be your moral support." She flashed a perfect smile and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. I had a feeling that when she said _your_ , she was only talking to Luke. Not the whole crew.

Luke took a deep breath. "If you don't wish to do repairs, then you are welcome to join Maude and her sisters on cafeteria duty."

The three snake women did a cross between a snarl and a smile. Emily looked like she was going to be sick. "On second thought," she said. "I'll help out with repairs."

Luke gave a satisfied nod and turned to the rough housing monsters in the corner. "Agrius. Oreius." The bear twins froze mid punch. They quickly lowered their fists and turned at attention to their boss, though they looked a little wobbly. "When you are done wasting time," Luke went on. "I want a list of all the damages so we can assign each officer to a task. Understood?"

The twins shifted uncomfortably. "Um. . ." Agrius stammered. 

"Is that understood?" Luke asked again.

Agrius opened his mouth to say something, but Maude beat him to it. 

"They cannot write."

Luke turned to the snake woman who still looked extremely bored. "What?"

"You asssked them to write a lissst of damagesss. They can't, becaussse they can't write. I thought you would know that." Her strung out S's made me want to join in on the punching game. 

"She is right," Agrius said hesitantly. "My brother and I do not know how to write."

"Fine," Luke sighed. "When we are done, take the officers and point to all the damaged spots. Can you handle that?"

"Yes sir!" The two said in unison and they put their hands to their heads in a salute.

Maude hissed which sounded somewhat like a snicker. 

"Maude, any reports on the mortals?" Luke turned to the snake woman.

"Boring asss usual," she said. "They don't do anything interesssting. From sssunrissse to sssunssset, they only wander around like they are lossst. Ssserioussly, they are awful entertainment. Sssomeone should assssassssinate-"

"Thank you Maude!" I cut in. If I heard one more hiss I was going to throw myself off the ship. "We know that the mortals are not exactly wanted, but they are a good cover up for us. So however _boring_ they may be, there will be no assassinating of _any_ mortals." 

She looked at me like mortals might not be the only ones on her strike list. But Luke gave me an impressed look, which made it better. 

"General Graycen is right," he said. Hearing him say my full name gave me chills. It is only one letter difference, but I had grown to love the nickname he gave me. Usually he only called me Graycen when he was angry with me, which wasn't often. But this was different. He was addressing the officers sitting around us. He was recognizing me as a higher rank than them, second only to him. I could get used to being called a general.

"Do your best to ignore the mortals," Luke went on. "Fighting with them will get us nowhere." He stood from his seat. "And with that, this meeting is dismissed. Everyone get to work!"

The monsters and demigods alike rose as well, and started for the exit. "Kage," Luke called to one officer. "Stay for a moment please."

A few snickers went up from the other demigods. "Someone's in trouble," one said. 

I headed for the door when Luke grabbed my arm. "You stay too."

"Oh," I said. "Okay."

I sat back in my seat as Kage took the one across from me. I hardly noticed him during the meeting. I guessed he was around fifteen. He looked like what I would imagine a son of Hades would look like. He was tall and thin with ivory skin. He had a bad case of bed head that matched his sloppy dark clothes. His brown eyes seemed to absorb every inch of light around them. I noticed that he was the only demigod on the ship that didn't carry a weapon. Somehow that made me feel even more uneasy. 

"What can I do for you, generals?" His voice was smooth and inviting, not matching his appearance. 

Luke sat next to me and focused on the teen in front of us. "I don't want you helping with repairs."

"And why is that?" Kage sat forward in his seat.

"I have a different job for you," Luke answered. 

"Oh?"

"I want you to take a few hellhounds and go ashore. They are the best at sniffing out half-bloods."

"I'm afraid I do not understand." The more he spoke, the more I wanted to curl up and take a long nap. I pinched my arm to keep my senses alert.

"We need more recruits," Luke said. "With the summer session beginning soon, more and more half-bloods will be traveling to New York. I want you to find them, and give them reasons to join us, rather than return to camp."

I couldn't quite decipher Kage's expression. "I see. It is a good plan, I will say. But may I ask, why would you choose me for this task?"

"I understand you can control the hellhounds better than anyone. I also hear that you can be very. . ." He paused, as if trying to find the right words. "Convincing."

A thin smile spread across Kage's face. "You have heard correctly." He stood, stretching his arms. "Very well. I will leave at sunset. And I guarantee, I will not return alone."

He walked out of the room, and I swear it got a little bit lighter when he did. 

I shuddered when the door closed. "That guy gives me the creeps." 

Luke stared at the seat Kage had been sitting in. "He's not so bad. Our numbers will grow because of him."

He turned in his chair and studied me, but he didn't say anything.

"What?" I asked him. 

"I'm just trying to figure out what goes on in that head of yours."

I looked down. "You're not still mad at me for poisoning the tree, are you?"

He waved his hand through the air. "Nah. You got the job done and you came back safely. That's what matters."

I tried to hide my smile. 

"How's your leg?" He asked me.

I froze for a moment. I had completely forgotten about my wound since I had gotten back. I stretched my leg. I didn't feel anything. 

"Grayce?" Luke asked.

I stared at the bandage and began unwrapping it.

"What are you-"

The whole thing unraveled and dropped to the floor. Luke and I both caught our breaths. 

"How did-?" He stammered, shaking his head.

"I- I don't know."

There was no cut on my leg. There wasn't even as much as a scar. I didn't feel any pain. In fact, I felt stronger and healthier than I had in months. 

"Maybe the ambrosia. . ." I couldn't finish. I knew no amount of ambrosia could have healed a wound that bad, that fast. It simply wasn't possible. 

Luke's mouth hung open. He looked more shocked than I did. Then he let out a laugh. "Dang, Grayce! How many tricks do you have up those sleeves?"

"I have no idea-" I stammered, shaking my head. "Honest!"

He laughed again. "Well, it doesn't matter how it happened. It matters that it did." He grabbed my hands and stood, pulling me into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay."

My heart did that little fluttery thing again. "Me too." 

He let go and looked down at my leg again. He shook his head in disbelief. "I just can't believe it. Celebratory dinner tonight. Just you and me. Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect."

We left the war room and started helping the rest of the crew on the ship. 


	4. Chapter 4

The next two weeks was any ADHD kid's nightmare. 

I tried to keep myself busy, but simply _knowing_ the fact that we were waiting for something put me constantly on edge. 

With my leg healed (which I still have no idea how it happened) I had plenty of energy to spare. I was up before sunrise every morning to train. I helped with damage control during the day, and as soon as the sun began to set, I trained some more. 

After the first week, the ship was back to normal. I was happy I didn't have to work with power tools anymore, but that meant one less thing to keep me busy while we waited for a quest to be handed out at camp. 

It was Friday, sixteen days since I poisoned Thalia's tree. I had been training since four in the morning.

I plopped down on the bed and let out a deep breath. "Nothing beats a comfy bed after a long day," I said to myself. 

The clock on the wall read seven thirty. I groaned. "Why won't this day just end already?"

I sat up and changed into sweats. The summer heat was brutal, but I kept the temperature in my cabin down low so I was always cold.

I stared at my night table and did the same thing I had done every night for the last two weeks. I pulled an envelope out from the drawer. The golden seal glistened. I turned it over in my hand and studied the cursive written on the back.

I hadn't read the letter. If I'm honest, I was too scared to. If it really _was_ my mother, then those would be her last words to me. I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. Once I read it, it would be over. I would never hear anything new from my mom. 

So instead, I tortured myself by looking at it every night and wondering what it said inside. 

I put the envelope back in its drawer. I looked out the porthole and stared at the dark ocean. The moonlight danced across the waves. I could picture my mom on her surfboard, smelling the air and scanning the skies, trying to figure out if a good wave was on its way. I never understood any of that. Every time I tried to ask her how she knew if there was a wave coming by smelling the air, she would just laugh and say, "The sky and the sea are friends. They tell each other secrets. If you understand one, you understand the other." I would cross my arms and pout, complaining that her riddles never made any sense. But that would only make her laugh again. 

I walked over to the mirror that hung on my wall. Looking at my own reflection made me miss her even more. When I was younger, people would always tell me I looked like her. I never saw it. My mother was so strong and brave and confident. I wasn't any of those things. I was never sure of who I was. Maybe it's because I never knew my father. Maybe it's because I grew up in the shadow of a seemingly perfect mother. All I knew is I was nothing like my mom, but I would have given anything to be. 

A knock on the door made me jump. It cracked open and a voice called out, "Hello?"

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's Cole."

I walked over and opened the door the rest of the way. "What's up?"

Once I got past Cole's rugged, quite intimidating, appearance, I learned that he was actually a pretty great guy. We had done a lot of training together since he arrived. I taught him how to have better defense and he showed me some of his dual sword wielding moves. 

"Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to give you something." He held out a long package wrapped in brown paper. 

"What's this for?" I took the gift, but waited to open it. 

"I've really enjoyed training with you," he fidgeted with his hands, like he wasn't sure what to do with them, "and you've been getting really good at dual wielding, so I thought you could use this."

I unwrapped the package and starred in amazement. I held in my hands the most gorgeous sword I had ever seen. Now, I'm not into flashy stuff, but I couldn't help but fall in love with the blade. The celestial bronze gleamed brighter than I had ever seen. The hilt fit perfectly in my hand, even better than my normal weapon. The pommel was a silver head of a drakon. Written in Ancient Greek along the flat of the blade was "Conqueror of Beasts."

I gaped at the gift, trying to find the right words to say.

"I got the measurements from your other sword and I made a few adjustments based on your size and how you fight. It should have perfect balance. If not, I can always make adjustments-"

"No," I interrupted. "It's perfect. Cole, I- I don't deserve this. I didn't even really kill the drakon."

"You might as well have." He shifted on his feet. "I- _We_ all think that it was really brave, what you did."

"I'm not sure you would think that if you were there," I said.

"You leaped onto a drakon's face and stabbed it in the eye. How is that not brave?"

It felt strange getting a compliment like that from someone who could probably crush me with his pinky. But I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "Thank you, Cole. Really. This is incredible. I didn't even know you could make something like this."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I always thought that Hephaestus might be my dad. I've been building stuff since I can remember, but. . ."

"You were never claimed," I finished.

"Yeah," he said, studying his shoes.

I went to put my hand on his shoulder, but decided his elbow was more doable. "Well for what it's worth. This is the best craftsmanship I've ever seen. In my opinion, you're too good for Hephaestus. He doesn't deserve a son like you."

His smile made me feel warm and happy. 

"Well," he said. "I'll stop bothering you now. Have a good night." He turned around to leave. 

"Cole?" I asked.

He spun around quickly. "Yeah?"

"See you at training tomorrow?"

He smiled again. "Yeah." 

He ran down the hall and I closed my door. I studied the blade in my hand. "Amazing," I said aloud. 

I did some swings and thrusts. It was balanced perfectly. I could never dream of having a weapon this good. But here I was, holding it in my hands. I picked up my other sword and did some of the moves Cole had been teaching me. You'd think my arms would be ready to fall off after so much swordplay, but energy was surging through me. I felt like I could take on an army. 

I didn't think a lot of time had passed, but when I looked at the clock it said it was midnight. 

"Oh, _now_ you go by fast," I told it. 

It didn't answer. 

I turned out the lights and crawled in bed. My eyes fluttered closed and the dreams came right away.

I hadn't seen the face of Percy Jackson since I left Camp Half-blood last summer. The sight of him made me fume (if you can fume in a dream, that is.) 

Jackson was sitting on the floor of his cabin, trying to build something with someone I had never seen before. He was tall and big, and didn't at all look like he would be a camper. He had his back turned to me, so I couldn't see his face, but Percy sat in plain view. 

Percy threw a wrench down in frustration. "Ugh! Why is building a stupid chariot so hard?" He put his hands in his head. "Annabeth could do it if she were here." 

The big kid patted him on the shoulder and picked up the wrench. "It is okay brother. We do not need the scary blonde girl." He went back to working on the project. "We are almost finished."

 _Brother?_ I thought.

"I know," Percy said, lifting his head to watch his friend do what he apparently could not. "I just feel bad for yelling at her. That's all."

"You are nice. Annabeth likes you. You will stay friends."

I could have sworn Percy blushed.

"Done!" The big kid clapped his hands and sat the project up. A blue and white chariot stood tall and proud in the middle of their cabin. Wave designs were painted on the sides with a trident on the front. Considering Percy had helped make it, it was pretty amazing I will say.

"Already?" Percy asked.

"Yes. It is ready."

"You're awesome Tyson. We're gonna win that race tomorrow for sure."

The dream rippled and I was standing at the top of Half-blood Hill. Three demigods in full armor stood guard. Thalia's tree looked sickly and yellow. I could see a pack of hellhounds circling farther down the hill, but the guards didn't seem to notice. 

The scene changed again and I was in a large cave. It smelled like wet wool and raw meat. A fifteen foot cyclops was plopped in an armchair, snoring so loud it could be mistaken for a jet taking off. He wasn't exactly terrifying in that position, with his shirt coming up showing off his hairy stomach. But I had a feeling he could pack quite a punch when he was awake.

Suddenly the cyclops sat straight up in his chair and turned his large, green eyes towards me. He opened his mouth, but instead of speaking, he made an alarm sound even louder than his snoring.

I jolted awake, scrambling to find where the noise was coming from. 

Then as quickly as it came, it stopped. A voice spoke over the speakers. "Sorry about that folks! We had a slight malfunction in the control room. But all is well! Enjoy your day aboard the _Princess Andromeda_. And Don't forget to come by the bingo room at noon!"

"Mortals," I grunted. 

I got out of bed and changed into day clothes and armor. It was six in the morning. That meant I had two hours until training with Cole. I strapped my new sword to my belt and slung my old one across my back. I could get used to having two weapons. 

I made my way to the dining room and grabbed an apple. I wasn't much of a breakfast person. In fact, the only reason I ate anything at all was because Thomas had a way of finding out if everyone on board was eating right. If you weren't, he would follow you around and pop up out of nowhere, offering you a selection of healthy and nutritious snacks. I almost sliced off his head one morning when he appeared during one of my training sessions, trying to get me to eat a Clif Bar. I figured I'd eat an apple and call it a day.

There weren't many mortals out of their cabins this early, which was nice. I only ran into a couple seniors in the hallway. "We are going to play bingo," they both said in unison. I shouldered past them and kept moving. 

I continued down the hall until I reached the training room. Well, that's what it was to me anyways. It was actually a restaurant, but we never used it since we wanted all the mortals to eat in one place and we ate most of our meals in our cabins or in the private dining lounge. 

I had pushed all the tables to one side of the room. They held a variety of weapons and armor. Straw dummies were scattered around, most of them were barely standing. The kitchen was set up like an obstacle course. I would turn all the ovens and appliances on to give it a little flair. 

Only Cole and I trained here, and he only came when we had sessions together. I liked to be alone most of the day. Luke had been really busy the last couple weeks, with the ship repairs, new recruits coming in, and information from our spies. I offered to help whenever I could, but he always said he had it taken care of. So I trained and kept the officers and monsters in check. I oversaw the little day to day things so Luke wouldn't have to. 

I did my usual morning run through, just to pass the time until Cole arrived. When the door finally opened I was covered in sweat. 

When I turned towards the entrance, Cole wasn't the one who greeted me. 

"Hey." Luke stood in the doorway, dressed in his usual slacks and button down shirt. He looked very out of place with all the weapons. 

"Hey yourself," I said. 

"I wanted to talk to you real quick, if that's okay."

"You're gonna have to wait in line. I've got all these people lined up, just _dying_ to talk to me."

He stiffened and looked around the room. "Oh, I-" 

I let out a laugh. "Lighten up, Castellan. It's a joke."

The corners of his mouth twisted up. "Right. So anyways." He met me in the center of the room. "We have some new demigod recruits coming in soon, as you know. I was wondering if you could be in charge of training them regularly."

"Like, with swords?"

"Yeah. We have no idea what skills these kids have, and Kronos deserves only the best. I would train them myself but. . ." He scratched the back of his head. 

"Luke," I told him. "I'll take care of it. Focus on the important stuff."

He perked up and smiled. "Thanks Grayce. I owe you one."

I jabbed him in the ribs with the hilt of my left sword. "Tell me something I don't know."

He laughed and then stared at my hands, as if just realizing they were both occupied with weapons. 

"New blade?" He asked.

"Yeah." I held up my new toy. "Cole made it for me. We should really give him a job of making more weapons for us. This is the nicest sword I've ever held."

"Good to know." Luke looked like he was contemplating something, but quickly wiped the expression away. "Well, I have to get back to work. Thank you again, Grayce."

"You got it boss." I gave him a mocking salute which made him laugh as he left the room. 

I smiled to myself before slicing the head off a straw dummy. 

* * *

The rest of my day was like any other. I finished training at nine and headed to my cabin to shower. I was stopped by Agrius and Oreius on my way. 

"General Graycen!" Oreius called out as soon as he saw me. "Please can you tell my brother that pizza does not taste better than half-bloods!"

"Excuse me?" I squealed.

"Oreius, you idiot." His twin said. "She _is_ a half-blood!"

"Well," Oreius stammered. "That doesn't mean she doesn't know what they taste like!"

Agrius reached for his brother's neck like he was ready to strangle him, but I held my hands up. "Hold it! Both of you!" 

The bear twins froze where they stood.

"Oreius. You are aware of the rules. There will be no eating of any half-bloods on board. Agrius. Please refrain from strangling your brother every time he says something stupid. You're going to send him back to Tartarus one of these days and I don't think Luke will appreciate the loss of one of his guards." 

The tone that I used was becoming more and more familiar to me as the weeks went on. I sounded more like a general and less like a scared girl shoved in armor. 

"Yes General Graycen," the brothers hung their heads and said together. 

"Now, as you were," I told them. "Continue your duties."

They turned around to go Zeus knows where, when another announcement came over the speakers. "All officers report to the war room immediately. I repeat. All officers to the war room."

The bear twins looked back at me, and we headed straight to where we were called.

We were the last ones there. Everyone looked pretty exhausted, despite it not even being ten o'clock yet. A few demigods were even dressed in their pajamas. 

I took my seat to the right of Luke as the chatter in the room went down and all eyes were turned to our leader.

"I'll get straight to the point," Luke started. "A quest had been handed out to find the golden fleece and return it to Camp Half-blood to heal the tree."

"Finally," Emily sighed. "I think I would have bored myself to death if I had to wait another day."

"Don't give us that kind of hope," I said.

Emily glared at me but stifled laughter rose up among the other officers. Even Maude tried hard to suppress a smile.

"So," Luke continued, ignoring both comments, "We'll be making our way out of the sound. We have the coordinates that Clarisse La Rue and her team will be arriving at. They are headed straight for the Sea of Monsters. We will not be following them in, but we will be waiting for them when they come out."

" _If_ they come out," Chris Rodriguez mumbled under his breath. 

"Don't underestimate Clarisse," Luke said. "She may be stubborn and impulsive, but she's a good soldier."

Chris was hard to read, but if I didn't know better, I would say he looked a little worried. 

Luke sat forward in his seat. "When they have the fleece in their clutches and they emerge from the Sea of Monsters, we will hijack them and take the fleece for ourselves."

Thomas raised his hand and jumped in his seat. Luke heaved a heavy sigh. "Yes, Thomas?"

"What happens if they get the fleece to camp before we get it?"

Luke made a growling sound in his throat. "That won't happen."

"Yeah, but what if-"

"Enough questions, Thomas." 

The kid sank back in his chair and made a pouty face.

"For now," Luke said. "Everyone get some rest. Tonight we set sail for Florida."

* * *

That night I slept without any dreams. I was so relieved. Ever since I had left camp, they had become more and more frequent. Most of the time I could never understand them. I would just see scenes flash in front of me, faster than I could make out. I always woke up feeling like I had run a marathon. I was elated to have a night where I could actually rest. 

I slept later than I usually did. The sound of an Australian voice woke me out of my peaceful sleep. "Good morning, passengers! We'll be at sea all day today. Excellent weather for the poolside mambo party! Don't forget million-dollar bingo in the Kraken Lounge at one o'clock, and for our special guests, disemboweling practice on the Promenade!"

I covered my head with my pillow. I hated that guy. He was the only mortal on board who didn't seem to be emotionless. Instead, he had enough perkiness to overdose everyone on the ship. Part of the reason I woke up so early every day was so his voice wouldn't be the first thing I heard. 

I got dressed and wandered down to the ship's mall. It was Saturday, which meant it was evaluation time. 

Luke and I had decided that we needed to see just how skilled our officers were. I would judge them. If they didn't impress me, that meant private sessions with yours truly. And I would not make that easy. 

Five demigods lined up in the center of the mall. Monsters scattered the rest of the room, eager to see some action. We had closed off the area to mortals so they wouldn't get in the way. 

I marched to the line and called each by name as I passed them. "Chris Rodriguez. Emily Garnir. Thomas Bullock. Lou Warner. And Cole Howard. Some of you are great swordsmen." I glanced at Cole. "Others. . . need some work." I tried not to look at Thomas, who was much too small for his armor and was having trouble holding up his weapon. "Let's see how well you can fight, shall we?"

I dragged a straw dummy out from behind a jewelry kiosk. It was one that hadn't been used before and wore an orange Camp Half-blood T-shirt on it's chest. 

"Chris," I said. "You're up."

As he approached the dummy, the monsters in the back started to come closer. Chris slashed through the dummy with perfect form. In a matter of seconds, two fake arms and a straw head littered the floor. 

I nodded with satisfaction. "Well done. You can go now, Chris."

He returned the nod and headed out the doors. 

I pulled out an identical dummy to the last. "Lou. You're next."

Everyone had their turn. Thomas had a hard time reaching the dummy's chest or head and Emily simply complained the whole time. I dismissed them after their attempts. Cole was the only one left. I gestured for him to have at it. He stepped forward and began hashing at his target. He finished it off by stabbing it through his belly and ripping upwards. Straw flew everywhere as the monsters cheered. 

"Well done, as always," I told him.

"Thanks," Cole said. "But it's not like I did anything. It's a dummy."

"Well maybe next time you can all fight me instead."

"Is that a promise?"

I smiled and slashed the remaining part of the dummy in half. "Come on, let's eat."

We left the Promenade and headed to the cafeteria to enjoy a big healthy breakfast and an apple.

Before we got there, Lou Warner came running up the hall and stopped us. "General Graycen," she said, panting. "Stowaways were found on board. They're in the admiralty suite with Luke now."

"I'm on my way," I told her.

She grabbed my arm before I could get too far. "There's something you should know." Her tone was serious. "The stowaways are Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase." 

Ringing filled my ears. I shook Lou's arm off me and ran to Luke's suite. 

I went around to the side entrance. I waited and listened before going in. 

"I know all about that," Luke was saying. "And about your plan to find the Fleece. What were those coordinates, again ... 30, 31, 75, 12? You see, I still have friends at camp who keep me posted."

"Spies, you mean." It was Percy talking. I was sure of it. I had heard it enough times in my memories and dreams.

I cracked open the door and slipped inside. Luke's back was facing me. Percy and Annabeth were in plain view, guarded by Agrius and Oreius. They had someone else with them. It looked like the kid Percy was building the chariot with in my dream, Tyson, I remembered. I studied his face to see if I recognized him. I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop from yelping. He was a _cyclops._

No one seemed to notice I was in the room. I was hidden in the corner behind a bookshelf. I wanted to join Luke at his side and be there to help order the group's punishment, but my feet wouldn't move. I stayed in the shadows and watched the scene unfold in front of me. 

Luke kept talking. "The gods are using you, Percy. Do you have any idea what's in store for you if you reach your sixteenth birthday? Has Chiron even told you the prophecy?"

I remembered Luke telling me something about a great prophecy. It had to do with a child of the Big Three gods, but he didn't tell me what it said.

"I know what I need to know," Percy said with fake confidence. "Like, who my enemies are."

"Then you're a fool."

Tyson picked up a dining chair and smashed it to pieces like it was nothing. "Percy is not a fool!"

He charged at Luke, ready to beat him to a pulp. Before I could even react, Agrius and Oreius stopped him. They grabbed his arms and pushed him back. His fall made the floor tremble underneath me. 

"Too bad, Cyclops," Luke said. "Looks like my grizzly friends together are more than a match for your strength. Maybe I should let them-"

"Luke," Percy interrupted him. "Listen to me. Your father sent us."

The hairs on my arms stood up. _This is not good,_ I thought.

Luke's voice was full of anger. "Don't- even- mention him."

I held my breath, waiting for Luke to go all commando on them, but he stood still.

"He told us to take this boat," Percy went on. "I thought it was just for a ride, but he sent us here to find you. He told me he won't give up on you, no matter how angry you are."

"Angry?" Luke yelled, making by stomach do a couple flips. "Give up on me? He abandoned me, Percy! I want Olympus destroyed! Every throne crushed to rubble! You tell Hermes it's going to happen, too. Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger. He grows stronger." Luke pointed to the gold sarcophagus sitting on the dais at the back of the room. 

"So?" Percy asked. "What's so special ..." His face went slack as the realization hit him. He turned three shades paler. "Whoa, you don't mean-"

"He is re-forming," Luke said. "Little by little, we're calling his life force out of the pit. With every recruit who pledges our cause, another small piece appears-"

Familiar chills ran down my spine. I had heard Luke talk about Kronos rising for almost a year, but every time he did, it felt like I was dunked into an icy lake. 

Annabeth spoke up. "That's disgusting!"

"Your mother was born from Zeus's split skull, Annabeth. I wouldn't talk. Soon there will be enough of the titan lord so that we can make him whole again. We will piece together a new body for him, a work worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."

The casket seemed to glow a little brighter when he said that. My leg began to ache where my wound used to be. Kronos' words echoed in my head. _You claimed to join my army nearly a year ago, yet you have never approached me, never pledged your allegiance._ I stared at the sarcophagus, wondering if he knew I was there. 

The sound of the stateroom door opening brought my attention back to our guests.

Two mortal guards stepped in, each holding a nightstick. 

"Ah, good, security," Luke said, "I'm afraid we have some stowaways."

"Yes sir," the guards replied in unison.

Luke turned to Oreius. "It's time to feed the Aethiopian drakon. Take these fools below and show them how it's done."

Oreius flashed his stupid grin. "Hehe! Hehe!"

"Let me go, too," Agrius complained. "My brother is worthless. That Cyclops—"

"Is no threat," Luke said. He glanced behind him and I ducked behind the shelf beside me.

"Agrius, stay here. We have important matters to discuss."

"But—"

"Oreius," Luke interrupted, turning to the second twin. "Don't fail me. Stay in the hold to make sure the drakon is properly fed."

Footsteps echoed out of the room. I was torn whether to stay or go. I wanted to know what Luke was going to talk to Agrius about, but my urge to see Percy Jackson's fate was stronger. I slipped back through the door and ran for the bottom deck.

It felt like someone was tying my intestines into knots. Jackson was the biggest threat to our plans. If he was gone, it would make our job so much easier. And Annabeth. . . Well she was the biggest threat to me. 

My insides slowly started to become untangled. I was halfway to the chamber where we kept the drakon when the alarm went off. 

"Oreius, you idiot. What did you do?" I turned back around and headed towards the sound of screaming coming from the top deck. 

When I reached the source of the chaos, I had to hold back the urge to slice every monster on deck. 

Percy, Annabeth, and their cyclops friend were climbing in one of the lifeboats, trying to get the ropes to come loose. 

I barked orders at the officers around me. "Archers, launch! Hellhounds, attack!"

Percy sliced the first round of arrows out of the air like it was nothing and Tyson smacked a hellhound out of the way with a fire extinguisher. 

I drew my swords and ran to meet them, but before I could, Percy slashed at the ropes with his blade and the boat went crashing to the sea.

I screamed in rage. "You fools! How could you let them escape? Keep firing!"

I uncovered the next life boat and hopped in but when I looked over the edge, the trio was speeding away, faster than any motor could ever go.

I hacked the side of the ship with my swords. "No!" 

The rest of the crew tried their best to avoid eye contact. Cole was covered in piña colada, and the mortals stood far away, stunned by whatever happened. 

"Oreius." I called to the crowd. 

"Y- yes, general?" The bear man inched forward.

"Put the ship on double time. We're going to catch the little rodents who think they can beat us."


	5. Chapter 5

Nothing. 

We had been sailing for over a week and we found _nothing_. 

Luke assured me that we didn't need to worry about finding Jackson, we just needed to stick to the plan and meet the team in Florida. I, on the other hand, thought we should catch Percy, Annabeth, and the weird cyclops kid _before_ they reach Clarisse and are able to help her with the quest. 

"What if they get the fleece back to camp?" I asked Luke. "What if they beat us in Florida? You know he's a powerful demigod, and you're going to face him next to an ocean!"

"I've got everything under control," he told me. "And honestly, I'm a little insulted that you think a bunch of thirteen year-olds can beat me."

"You know what I mean. It's just-"

"It's just settled."

Honestly, he was so stubborn. 

The new demigod recruits came in a couple days after the incident. So at least I wasn't circling the deck waiting to pull up to the shore of Miami. 

There were a dozen soldiers, all ranging from thirteen to eighteen. Most of them were pretty decent fighters, but they were still rough around the edges. We trained three times a day for two hours. While Cole, Lou, and Chris were exempted from the session and given other orders around the ship, Emily and Thomas joined the newbies. 

Half of them came from the Hermes cabin back at camp, all unclaimed like me. The rest came from other places in the country. Kage had sent a few of them our way, a couple others just showed up. The monsters told us that the power of Kronos was drawing them in. 

I enjoyed being in charge of training. It made me feel like I had a place, like I belonged.

After the last training session of the day, I risked the wrath of little Thomas and skipped dinner. I climbed onto the roof of the control room. When I was stressed, I liked to watch the sunset from up there. 

I unsheathed the sword that Cole had given me. I read the inscription over and over. _Conqueror of Beasts._

I let out a breath. The fight with the drakon came rushing back to me. It was the first time since I arrived at camp that I had a real fight with a monster. Sure the woods were stocked with them at camp, but it was nothing crazy dangerous. And the monsters Luke and I had come across since we left knew better than to fight us. If they did, Luke would destroy them in a single swing.

I remembered the first few days we were on our own. I felt so lost and scared, but Luke assured me he had everything under control. As usual, he sounded so confident. Even though I had no idea what was going on, I trusted him. We wandered the streets for at least a week until we received the _Princess Andromeda._ Luke told me it was a gift from an important sponsor, though he never said who.

Since then, more and more monsters joined us, pledging their allegiance to Kronos. Of course, we needed demigod's pledges, not monsters. Still, it was good to have them around as extra security. (Even if some of them had brains the size of walnuts.)

The summer breeze rustled through my hair. I sniffed in the salty air and focused on the fond memories I had of the ocean. The sun reached the tip of the Florida sky line on the horizon. Bursts of orange, yellow, and pink filled the sky.

I didn't know how close we were to Miami, but it couldn't have been too far. It felt like we had been sailing for forever. I spent the whole time worried and stressed, trying to figure out ways to beat Jackson and his friends. But sitting there, listening to the waves beat up against the hull of the ship, admiring all the colors around me, I felt truly peaceful. 

_Peaceful,_ I thought. What a funny word. 

It seemed like such a foreign concept to me now. Ever since my mom died, my life had been so chaotic, even at camp. I never felt settled. And to think that, here I was, on a ship filled with monsters, half-gods, and brainwashed mortals, sitting in peace. I must have been crazy.

Before I convinced myself to sleep where I was, I stood and headed for the ladder. When I turned around, Luke was standing on the deck, staring up at me with a sour face. "What are you doing? Don't walk on my roof."

I stuck my tongue out at him and climbed down. 

His smirk told me he wasn't in a totally bad mood, but he still had a serious tone to his voice. "We're about half an hour from Miami shore."

"Okay," I said. "So what's the plan?"

"When they get here, I'm going to take Agrius and Oreius to shore with me and we'll take the fleece."

"Wait," I choked. "What?"

Luke turned and looked at me like he had no idea why I would be confused.

"You're only going to take those two oafs?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just supposed to wait on the boat while you go and take the fleece from them?" My voice rose a little more than I intended.

"I just thought-"

"What? That you could just do everything alone?"

His expression turned angrier. "That's not what I was doing. I-"

"You what Luke? Let me help!"

"I need you to stay and watch the ship."

"Oh," I said mockingly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you had a very important job for me that is worthy of a general."

Luke's face got red. "I have the final say. And I am saying that you will stay on the ship."

I clenched my fists. I wanted to yell, but I turned on my heel and marched to my cabin.

I attacked my bed posts with both swords. 

"Watch the ship," I said as I sliced one post in half. "What I say goes." Splinters littered the floor. "Why did you even want me here then?" I spun my blades around and knocked a box off my dresser. I roared in frustration. 

"Nothing can ever go good for me, can it?" I screamed at nothing in particular. "I can't have more than two seconds of things actually looking good. _No!_ You have to swoop in and make my life miserable!"

I wasn't sure who _you_ was. It just came out. Maybe it was Kronos or Luke. Maybe it was my dad.

I looked at the box and its content now spilled out on the floor. The scraps of paper that used to hang above my bunk in cabin eleven starred up at me. Alongside it was a celestial bronze compass. 

My eyes started to sting. 

"Why can't I make up my mind?" I continued to talk aloud. "One moment I'm sure, and the next I'm having doubts all over again."

My right leg throbbed where the cut used to be. 

I stabbed my swords into the floor. "You still think I'm a threat?" This time I knew who I was addressing. "Luke doesn't even trust me with the simplest of tasks."

I picked up the compass carefully. "Why won't he trust me?"

Another voice made me jump. For a moment, I worried that my conscious suddenly became much more audible. Then I realized it came from the door, and my conscious would never use pet names. 

"He doesn't trust anyone sweetie." Standing in the doorway was Emily Garnir in all her fashion glory. Her chocolate skin gleamed without so much as a spec of dirt. Her perfect hair and makeup made her look like she was fresh out of the beauty salon. The outfit she was wearing would have been horrible in combat and even worse in a church. 

"How long have you been there?" I asked her, trying not to look too disgusted by her presence. 

She shrugged. "Long enough."

"Yeah, that's reassuring," I mumbled under my breath. 

She walked closer to me and I instinctively put the compass in my pocket. "Luke is a lone wolf trying to play with a team," Emily went on. "I wouldn't expect him to treat you like a player, let alone a general."

I clenched my fist and reminded myself that punching people in the nose is usually frowned upon. "You don't know anything about Luke," I said, gritting my teeth. 

"Oh, but I do." She walked around my cabin, inspecting everything like it was on a platter for her to judge. "I'm a child of Aphrodite. We have this crazy ability to read people."

I suddenly felt all my walls go up, but I held my ground, determined to not be intimidated by this beauty queen. "Yeah?" I asked. "And what do you see when you _read_ me?"

She turned her attention off my dresser and back to me. She gave a heavy sigh. "Oh, honey, I don't have all night to talk about your issues."

My hands went to my swords. "So what exactly did you come here for?"

She moved so close to me our noses were almost touching. "Don't expect Luke to give you anything. If you want something, you have to take it for yourself."

I tightened my grip on the weapons, trying to stay calm. "And why would you want to give me advice, Emily?"

She backed away and headed to the door. "Just doing my good deed, darling." She waved her hand and disappeared down the hall. 

I stood frozen for a moment, not sure whether to scream, cry, or chase after her. Maybe all three. 

Instead, I crumbled to the ground. I leaned my weight on my swords, still stuck in the floor. Maybe Emily was right. 

_But he_ wanted _me here,_ I thought. _He told Kronos about me. That had to mean something._

But could I trust him to give me real authority? I began gathering up my courage to confront him, when noise erupted from the deck. The outburst snapped me back to reality. I pulled my weapons from the ground and ran out of my cabin.

Let me just say, whatever I was expecting to find on the top deck, it did not prepare me for what I saw. 

Dozens of centaurs ran around the ship, causing absolute chaos. These creatures looked nothing like my old activities director. Their stallion bodies ranged from jet black, to glittering gold, to multi-colored paint. They were dressed in bright t-shirts that I couldn't quite make out. Even their weapons confused me. It was a mixture of baseball bats, bows, paintball guns, and lots of other things that didn't belong in a battle. 

One centaur had his face painted and a foam #1 finger on his hand. Another had a bare chest painted green. One ran past me with googly eye glasses bouncing with every step. 

Our warriors looked too stunned to do anything. For a moment, I joined them in confusion. My brain felt like a circuit just exploded. I scanned the scene for Luke, but I didn't see him. 

"Don't just stand there!" I yelled to the still frozen monsters and demigods. "Fight back!"

They didn't seem to hear me. I rushed in, slicing bows and soda hats in half. My eyes went to the pool where Luke was crawling out of. "Attack, you fools!" He ordered. 

Apparently the monsters had selective hearing, because they began drawing their weapons, moving in on the centaurs. The alarm rang from below deck. In seconds we would have all our fighters here. 

I watched Tyson the cyclops knock over demigods like bowling pins. Someone from the enemy crowd shouted, "Withdraw, brethren!" I knew the voice immediately. Chiron was here. 

"Officers!" I called. "On me!"

We began aligning ourselves into a phalanx, just like we had done in training. But as soon as we were ready to strike, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson jumped onto the backs of three centaurs. The attackers jumped over the side of the ship and raced off faster than my eyes could follow. 

I screamed. "Not again!"

Luke stood beside me, dripping with pool water. I turned to face him. "Please tell me you at least got the fleece?"

His expression was deadly serious. The scar along his face gleamed in the dim light. He didn't respond, which gave me my answer. 

I slashed through a fountain. "You should have let me come with you! I told you, you shouldn't have gone-"

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Luke kept his eyes on the horizon. I could almost see him trying to swallow his anger. "They sent Clarisse ahead with the fleece. We would have won the fight had Chiron not brought his deranged family here."

"But he did," I told him. "And now we're right back to where we started. We don't have Jackson. We don't have the fleece. And they're going to heal Thalia's tree."

"I am well aware of that," he said with a strangely calm tone. 

My voice on the other hand was only getting louder. "So? What are we going to do?"

There was a long pause before he spoke. "Have the officers report to the war room in five minutes." Then he turned around and walked away. 

I started to follow him, but stopped in my tracks. I turned to the crowd on the deck. "You heard him. Meeting in five."

The mood felt dark and cold when the officers met. I noticed that Agrius and Oreius weren't there. When I asked what was keeping them, Cole informed me that they had died in the attack. I was surprised by how much my heart ached at the news. Those twins were absolute oafs, but they were good fighters. I reminded myself that they would be reborn soon, and it was silly to be sad over the death of a couple monsters. 

Luke sat in his usual spot at the head of the table, but his demeanor was completely different. Before, he had a lighter mood. I wouldn't exactly describe it as happy, but he liked what he was doing. He knew he had power and a great plan. So even though he was stressed, he still enjoyed what he had. Now, it seemed like someone zapped all the excitement away from him. All that was left was determination. He would stop at _nothing_ to get what he wanted. 

"We're going to be sailing South," Luke said, when everyone took their seat. "Moving towards the Panama Canal."

Chris Rodriguez beat me to the question I was planning to ask. "And why is that?"

"We are going to set up base in California."

If it was possible, the mood became even more cold and uncomfortable. Everyone knew that it wasn't safe for demigods in California. That was where the mist was strongest. For a group of half-bloods this large to go there, it would be suicide. 

Then again, we were on a ship filled with monsters who normally would eat us for breakfast. So I guess this was a special circumstance. 

"What's in California?" All eyes turned to Thomas, who was looking more confused than ever. 

One of the newer demigods, Mona Sorge, rested her hand on his shoulder. She whispered, "I'll tell you later." 

Thomas didn't look satisfied, but he closed his mouth. 

Luke sat forward in his seat. His hair looked almost gray, along with his pale eyes. "When we arrive at our destination, we will build Lord Kronos a temple worthy of him." He looked at every face in the room, daring anyone to object. He finally met my gaze and held it. "And then we will give our new king a new body."


End file.
